Back to results
US 5,488,282 AGranted
System and method for reconditioning spacecraft battery
AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company
InventorsJoseph H. Hayden, Steven J. Stadnick
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company
InventorsJoseph H. Hayden, Steven J. Stadnick
Estimating the term…
A battery reconditioning system and method for a spacecraft which utilizes a single battery as a secondary source of power for spacecraft electrical loads (10). The battery (14) includes a plurality of serially connected packs (30-36) each including a plurality of cells (40-46) connected in series. Sensors (50-56) are provided with each pack for sensing the state of charge of the pack. Battery charging circuitry (12,18,20) is controlled from control circuitry (22,52) which is responsive to the state of charge sensors as well as commands from a ground station transceiver (57). Reconditioning resistors (60-66) are adapted to be connected across the individual packs through switches (70-76) which are controlled by the control circuitry to discharge the pack at a relatively high rate when reconditioning is desired. After a pack is discharged to a desired low state of charge, its reconditioning resistor is disconnected and all packs are recharged in series. A pair of diodes (80A,80B-86A,86B) are connected across each pack and provide a low resistance current path in the event a fault clearing current is required from the battery during reconditioning of a pack.
A battery reconditioning system for a spacecraft having a single battery serving as a secondary source of electrical energy to support spacecraft electrical loads, said battery including a plurality of serially connected packs each comprising a plurality of cells, the system comprising:
A battery reconditioning system for a spacecraft having a secondary source of electrical power comprising a single battery, said battery comprising a plurality of serially connected packs each containing a plurality of cells, sensing means for sensing the state of charge of each of said packs, reconditioning load means associated with each of said packs, battery charging means, control means for selectively connecting a load means with its associated pack to discharge said associated pack to a predetermined low state of charge and for thereafter disconnecting the selected load means from its associated pack and connecting said battery charging means across said serially connected packs, at least one of said sensing means providing a charge termination signal to said control means when one of said packs reaches a predetermined state of charge, diode means connected with each of said packs and providing a shunt current path bypassing said packs when said diode means are forward biased.
A method of reconditioning a battery having a plurality of serially connected packs, each of the packs including a plurality of cells, the method comprising the steps of:
A method of reconditioning a battery having a plurality of serially connected packs, each of said serially connected packs including a plurality of cells, the method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.